2013 MileagePlus Elite Status Granted Even Though Short of PQM/PQS
 

A family member of mine is currently about 700 miles short of 1K (and is / was a Plat). But his account now shows 1K. Crazy.

He does have a flight booked for the holidays that will put him over, but United definitely comp'ed him up early. So for those wondering..... well, here's a datapoint. And interestingly, we get that datapoint BEFORE the end of the year.

Sure seems to me like United is trying to be a bit (or a lot) more friendly to their 1K's lately!

I know someone who got bumped to Plat while 309 miles short, so not just for 1Ks.

Related threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ualifying.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...qm-eqs-11.html

How the heck did I get 1K?
 

I'm 725 miles short of 1k. I booked a quick trip to get the remaining miles last week, scheduled to fly next week on the 28th. I went into check seating on the flight on the website yesterday and I'm currently showing as 1k status. I'm going to call to confirm, but it looks like I was bumped up to 1k.

How the heck did I get 1K?
 

I travel only domestic, and always make my status on segments, not miles. I was very excited to pass 90 segments this year and get Platinum for the first time. Today when I logged in, it shows me as 1K now (??). Metrics:

MileagePlus Status Level: Premier 1K
Star Alliance Status: Gold
Year to Date Premier Miles: 69,264
Year to Date Premier Segments:
99
Edit: Total Spend: $33,804

The funnny thing is, the little progress bar does not show me making it all the way to 1K. Mistake? If so, a cruel one. Most of my travel is last-minute, full-fare (ex: $1,200 to PHL this past Wednesday).

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/10920677/1k.PNG

Interesting. You need 120 segments for 1K. Then again look at your progress bar.

Looks to be a glitch.

Was there a lot of $$$$$ spending in there? They might be taking high-yield travelers not quite in the GS ballpark and handing out 1K.

If (hypothetical) the threashold for GS were $40,000, and someone spends over $20,000 on only 70,000 PQMs (indicitive high-yield travel), it is probably worth UA's while to bump to 1K to encourage continued revenue based on the slightly higher service level given to 1Ks. That would be good a business decision because this is the type of customer to keep.

I easily spent > $30,000. I guess I'll have to tally it by hand on my AMEX but 50+ tickets, many over $1k, so maybe even spent more than $30k.

Edit: Total Spend: $33,804

My account shows 1K and I was 417 miles short. Merry Christmas to me.

I am 180 miles short of Gold, and took two flights 3 days ago that should have gotten me to gold without a problem but they have not yet posted. And I have a flight tomorrow. Guess I'm not getting a Christmas upgrade. Sad Christmas to me.

My status bumped to 1k early as well (900 miles short on 12/20). It was functional, as it printed out on my boarding pass.

I'm shocked that UA has done this now rather than waiting until January or later. Some people would otherwise take extra flights or otherwise spend money on UA (buying miles, for example) to ensure status by the end of the year.

Interesting. I've got ~100 segments and ~90k miles, and it shows me as Platinum. I'm guessing it's a cruel mistake on yours, and will eventually be fixed.

My spend was less, probably ~$17.5k though.

Perhaps the exodus of high value over entitled flyers was large?

Still showing 1K as of today. I'll be honest, I'll take it if I can get it, but really I see very little incremental benefit of 1K over Plat, and frankly little benefit of Plat over Gold. Gold, on the other hand, is critical as it gives *G, which allows me to cheat through a little-known line at CLE. Regardless, I'll take 1K for the meal preference but don't see much else in it for me. No complaining though!

Deja vu?
 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ds-merged.html

Hope for everyone's sake it's not deja vu all over again, with a twist.